One World Apart
by ayshesgoneagain
Summary: In an orphanage for as long as she can remember, seven year old Mikan is surprised when Kaoru Hyuuga takes her in. Mikan is to be the playmate of Kaoru's son, Natsume Hyuuga's, but how will it work out?
1. Chapter 1

Pillars collapsed under the weight of a damaged house. Debris littered the driveway of a mansion set on fire. These were the signs of a recent sabotage movement against the rich families. This, however, was significantly more damaging than the previous sabotage attempts. The mansion's main door burst open.

 _This is bad. This is really, really bad._

A woman with long auburn hair ran out desperately, her boot clad feet hitting against the stony pavement hard. In her hands was a small bundle of pink cloth, held close to her chest. On closer inspection, it was a small baby girl with flushed cheeks.

A group of men and women, dressed completely in black were chasing them, guns and knives aimed at her. She was a good distance ahead of them, but it was still unsafe.

A couple of shots rang out, and the woman stumbled. She somehow managed to catch herself, and tried to run faster to make up for the stumble.

However, it was clear that she could not run any faster. Her shortness of breath made her dizzy, and she stumbled once more. She pulled the cloth bundle as close as possible and crashed onto her shoulder. She stayed down for a moment before she got onto her knees and tried to get up. A knife flew at her, landing beside her after cutting across her uninjured shoulder. She flinched at the sudden pain, before she started running again. Her energy seemed to spike as the treeline of a forest came into view.

Her face showing her renewed vigour. Her eyes shone with hope, and she almost let out a grin. She entered the forest, and let out a short laugh as she heard thuds behind her, making the group following her lose two members.

 _Everything_ seemed possible now.

She held the baby girl close with one hand, and gripped a key around her neck with the other. The moment she reached a clearing, she turned around quickly, and with a pull of the key, dissappeared.

 **XXXXxxxxXXXX**

Mikan sat in the corner of the orphanage's common bedroom. No one tried to talk to her anymore, and none of the people who had come to adopt kids approached her. Mikan's heart was deflating by the minute.

She let out a sigh, pulling at her hair. She looked at all the happy kids who were talking with the people that visited the orphanage. A woman with dark hair was talking animatedly with the caretaker. Mikan bent her head down again, pulling a paper and crayons towards her to draw.

She was just finishing a picture of a stuffed bear when a pair of feet popped up at the corner of her eyes. She looked up, curious to see who it was. A boy around her age stood there, looking at her with dull, bored red eyes. He had really messy black hair. She smiled at him.

"Hello," she said.

He remained silent. His eyes were studying her from head to toe. She waved. He opened his mouth, and Mikan moved closer to him expectantly.

" _Ugly_."

Mikan's eyebrow twitched. She glared at him. She studied his face for a moment. Then she grinned.

"Short-eyebrows."

The boy glared at her, and Mikan let out a squeak at the glare. He opened his mouth for another insult, but a woman's voice stopped him.

" _Already_ harassing her, Natsume?" It came from behind the boy.

The boy turned and Mikan looked around him, still seated, to see the dark haired woman from earlier. She had one hand on her waist, and the other holding her bag over her shoulder.

A very young woman, by the looks of it. She was a sight for sore eyes to Mikan as all Mikan ever saw were tired old ladies, the ones that worked at the orphanage. Mikan reduced her grin to a smile.

"So, you're Mikan Sakura, correct?" Asked the woman.

Mikan nodded.

"Well, you're coming with us."

Mikan stared. What? She was adopted?

"I... I'm adopted?"

"Well, not really. _Technically_ , you're taken in. You'll be keeping your name and everything else, but you'll be living in our mansion. You see." The woman took the boy by his shoulders. "Natsume here has been really bored recently so we decided that a child of his age could keep him company... he doesn't have many friends."

Mikan looked back at Natsume. He glared at her instantly.

"Now, now, be kind to her." The woman's red eyes twinkled.

He let out a small grunt before going away and out the doors.

The woman extended her hand to Mikan. "The formalities have to be taken care of in your presence."

Mikan put away her paper and crayons quickly before she took the woman's hand and followed her. They went into the adoption form room, where Mikan was instructed to sit ina couch to the side as the woman sat in front of the main table.

The caretaker, who was on the other side, pushed forward a file, and told the woman to look through it properly and do as needed. Mikan looked around the room she had seen a million times, but she was finally inside the room, instead of outside.

An hour of boring formalities later, Mikan found herself and her small bag of possessions outside the orphanage gates for the first time. She was outside the orphanage.

"How old are you, Mikan?" The woman asked kindly.

"Seven, ma'am."

"Oh, I see. And call me Kaoru."

"Okay, Kaoru. But isn't that rude?"

"Not to me, or my family. But if you want to, call me auntie."

"I'd like to do that, please."

"And now we go home."

Mikan's heart swelled with happiness at the word home. She had a _home_. She had a home!

XXXXxxxxXXXX

 **Yeah, I'm back to this account, under a different name. I've written and deleted alot of stories, but I'll stick with this one to the end, I promise. I worked on this idea for so long, I won't be able to leave it alone.**


	2. Chapter 2

**((Warning. A ton of description of the Hyuuga house.))**  
In the car drive back home, Mikan sat in the back as Kaoru drove and Natsume sat in the front beside her. Mikan's attention was taken by the scenery speeding by outside. She was looking left, right and back, trying to see everything, pressing up against the windows.

"Eager, aren't you?" Asked Kaoru.

"Yes, auntie. It's the first time I've been this far outside the orphanage!" Mikan answered, her cheeks flushed.

As the minutes went by, they reached a lesser cluttered, more posh area of town, and Kaoru started slowing down the car and turned into a side lane. The side lane turned out to be a driveway of sorts, and at the end, there was a considerably large mansion, with a metal swing in the bare lawn. Mikan carefully opened the car door and jumped out, her bag already on her back.

"That's a huge house!" She almost yelled, but managed to stay quiet.

Kaoru came to stand beside her and put a hand on her head. "I guess it is. But let's go in first. Once everything is sorted out, you can come out and play. Preferably with Natsume."

Kaoru had seen the gleam in Mikan's eyes, and knew just what she was thinking. Mikan looked toward the woman, and then back at the swing. Kaoru had also seen the distaste in Natsume's face, as he came and stood on her other side.

Kaoru shook her head and started walking down the path to the mansion, Mikan's and Natsume's hands in her own. Mikan skipped and Natsume dragged his feet.  
For a moment, Kaoru wondered how she had given birth to such a sullen kid. Then she shook the thought off. It would be useless to ponder on such a thought, after all.

She stopped at the mansion's main doors, and knocked. In a moment, the doors swung open, and a maid and a butler bowed. They took the car keys, and Kaoru dismissed them.

"I'd like to take care of everything else myself." She smiled to them.

After Mikan and Natsume took off their shoes, they followed Kaoru into the mansion. They were in the main room. From what Mikan could see, the floor was of white marble, patterned with black flowers around the edges and the center. There was a staircase to either side, meeting up towards the center, arching above the dining room's door.

On the first floor, there was a sitting area overlooking the first floor, and doorways to either side, along with a balcony entrance in the middle. Kaoru took the left staircase, and Mikan followed. Natsume let out a huff and went up the right staircase.

"That's where his room is. Your's is here," Kaoru said, leading Mikan into the left wing.

A few steps into the left corridor gave way to another staircase, once which curved upwards. Beyond the staircase were three doors. Two were in the inner wall and one on the opposite wall. There were windows all along the outer wall of the corridor. Kaoru opened the first door after the staircase.

This lead to a room with cream colored walls, and a plush pale blue carpet. There was a bed to one corner. There were a few pillows and a blanket on it. A bookshelf stood beside it. It also extended into a night stand. A little distance away from the bookshelf, opposite the door, was a desk. The desk was in front of a window over looking the front of the mansion. A powder blue closet stood at the bed's foot, one of the doors acting as a mirror. In the wall opposite the bed, were two small doors. One which obviously lead to a washroom, and one which was a mystery to Mikan.

Kaoru saw Mikan staring at the door. "That door leads to a storage area. You can do anything with that area, use it as you please."

Mikan nodded, still too busy taking in the room.

"Oh, before I forget, do you have a Key?"

"A key?" Mikan asked.

Kaoru pulled out a Key suspended on a chain hanging around her neck from under the collar of her dress.

"I do!" Mikan said, opening her bag and pulling out a small box. From inside it, she pulled out a Key. Kaoru reached out and touched it.

"It… This seems to have less energy," she said, slightly confused.

"Ah… the caretaker said that it was because my mother had used it up to get me to the orphanage. Is it abnormal?" Mikan was confused now.

"No, the key restores power over time, albeit slowly. Jist don't try to use it."

"Use it?"

"Ah… the Key is used to jump between differnet parts of the world or sometimes different worlds when it's owner is in an extremly dangerous position. It usually heats up at that point." Kaoru explained.

Mikan nodded, before stuffing the Key back into hte box and placing it in her bag.

"Alright. Freshen up and then come down to the balcony, okay?"

Kaoru left after saying this, and Mikan, slowly at first, and then in a run, collapsed onto the bed. She hugged a pillow, let out a laugh, before jumping off the bed. She ran around the room, stopping to inspect everything. The little storage area had a slanted roof, as it was placed directly under the staircase. The bathroom was also cream and baby blue. It had the usual necessities, like a wash basin, a toilet, a showerhead and-

Mikan stared.

A tub! She skipped towards it and inspected it. She had never been near a tub before. It was blue as well, with dark blue butterflies patterned across the top.  
She played with he taps, and once her curiosity was satisfied, ran out of the washroom.

In the bedroom, she ran to her bag, and spilled everything she had in it onto her bed. She took the Key box aside and carefully put it in a corner of the closet, and then sorted the rest of the stuff according to which item went where.

Once she was done, she checked to see how she looked and ran out into the sitting area.

Kaoru was there, reading a book. Once Mikan came into view, she smiled. "I assume you are hungry?"

"I am hungry, auntie."

"Well, down to the dining room we go."

 **XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX Abrupt place to end, but I can't really write anymore. Sorry about all the description, I wanted to just explain how the interior looked a little bit.**  
 **Thank you to everyone that read the first chapter! It really motivated me to write this in a day.**  
 **Replies to reviews:**  
 **Kimcub110: THANK YOU! A lot.**  
 **Guest: Ah yeah, maybe the typo escaped me…. Thank you for pointing it out! It really helped me. I tried to rectify it?**  
 **Guest(Feu?): Thank you! Guest: Really? Thank you!**  
 **Yukihara Min Ho: Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Down to the dining room went Kaoru and Mikan. The dining room was a very simple one, white walls and marble. A large table for eight sat in the center. Kaoru helped Mikan onto one of the table's plush chairs.

"What would you like to have?" she asked, leaning against the table.

"Sandwiches, auntie," said Mikan. Kaoru looked into the air blank for a second, in thought before calling a maid. "Get her a couple of sandwiches."

Mikan sat patiently in her seat, swinging her legs. Kaoru looked from Mikan to outside the dining room.

"Auntie," Mikan called out, snapping Kaoru out of her daze.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where does the Key come from?"

"The Key? It…" Kaoru trailed off, in thought. "It comes from the government, I think. Everyone has one. Natsume has one with an orange stone, and you have one with a red stone, like me. The government distributes Keys to the hospitals, and they are then given to newborn babies, ensuring that every child has a key. You only get one key for life."

Mikan stared at her. "Well, if you don't understand it properly now, you'll understand it wehn your older. I couldn't grasp it's context until I was seventeen."

"Okay." Mikan was still not convinced.

And the silence continued, Kaoru staring out the door and Mikan eating.

Mikan finished soon, and turned to Kaoru

"Auntie, can I go play on the swing now?" Mikan asked, coming to what she had been thinking of since she had reached the Hyuuga Manor. " _Please?_ "

Kaoru looked at her for a moment, before smiling and nodding. However, before Mikan could start running, Kaoru crouched to her level and patted her head. "With Natsume."

Mikan's expression fell a little, but she nodded. She ran out of the dining room and skipped up the stairs to the right. She slowed down once she reached the top, and looked into the corridor. It had the exact same layout as the left one. So she decided that Natsume's room would be in the same location as her's.  
She walked up to his door and knocked. No response. She knocked again. A grunt came from inside.

 _Good enough._

She barged into the room. Natsume was in his bed, reading a manga. His room also had the same layout, except it was mirrored, and he had a few more possessions than her.

"You!" She called out, as she didn't know his name.

Natsume ignored her, flipping the page of his book. Mikan felt her anger rise a little.

"You! Short-eyebrows!"

She saw Natsume's expression turn to annoyance at that.

 _Mission accomplished._

"Come with me! Auntie sent me to get you out and play with me on the swing!" Mikan said.

"No." His reply was short.

Almost as short his eyebrows.

Mikan huffed, before stomping over to where Natsume was. She pulled the book out of his hands, and carefully returned it to the bookshelf. She then grabbed the stunned Natsume by his hand and ran out the room with him in tow. Natsume simply followed, too confused to to do anything. She pulled him along the corridor and then down the stairs. Kaoru, who was sitting in the sitting area in between the left and right corridors, watched on amusedly.

Out the door the children went, and Mikan pulled Natsume over to the swing. She sat on it, and patted the space beside her.

Natsume stared for a moment, before glaring at her. "No. I'm going back in."

"No, you're not! Auntie told me that I have to play with you!"

"I am not going to play, ugly."

Mikan let out a screech of annoyance, and jumped off the swing. She grabbed Natsume around his waist, and sat back in the swing with him on her lap. He was smaller sized and lighter when compared to her. Ignoring his trashing around, she started swinging, kicking her legs off the ground. It was a little hard of a feat to achieve, with Natsume in her lap, but she managed to pull it off.

"Put me down, hag!" Natsume yelled at her.

"No!"

Natsume pulled away from her, and both of them landed in a heap before the swing. However, Mikan still had her hands around him. Natsume tried to pull away again.

Mikan pushed him down and sat on his stomach. "Can't get away now, ha!"

Natsume pulled her hair. Mikan scratched his cheek. Natsume pulled her mouth. Mikan…

Mikan tickled him. Natsume, no matter how much he resisted, burst out laughing, tears in his eyes.

"Stop!" He stammered. "Let me go!"  
He tickled her back. Mikan resisted for quite a while, but once she gave up, she collapsed in a fit of giggles. Natsume saw this as his chance to run away, and escaped inside. Mikan calmed down from her giggles.

Tears pricked her eyes.

"Ah, no, no," she mumbled, trying to wipe them away.

Certain scenes from her time in the orphanage came to her.

No one ever played with her. Even the new kids were quickly turned against her. When she had cried and asked the caretaker why, she simply blamed Mikan's mother, Yuka. Mikan never really understood why.

Her only friend was her stuffed bear. And he was taken from her. Taken from her, and tossed out the window. Then he was torn apart by the older kids.

Her only friend was taken from her.

And now, even Natsume, for whose sake she was adopte- taken in, ran away from her at the mention of play.

"Please, not now," she said to herself, her attempts at stopping herself from crying failing.

She wept as quietly as she could, and yet, Kaoru managed to notice her and came out.

"Mikan, where's Natsu- Wait, are you crying? What happened, dear?" Kaoru came down and sat down before her. "Did Natsume do something?"

Mikan shook her head. "It's nothing. It's nothing."

Kaoru watched as the child tried to stop crying, and failed. Not able to take it anymore, she hugged Mikan.

Mikan shook her head, and wiped her eyes forcefully. She sniffed, and looked up at Kaoru.

"It's nothing, auntie."

Mikan got up and ran off into the house before Kaoru could say anything.

"Even children can act like that, huh. She reminds me of _her_."  
 **XXXXXXXX**

 **The reason the** **previous chapter was messed up was because the site didn't save my format properly. I rectified it, so if you want to, you can read it again?  
Reviews:  
Guest: Thank you!**

 **Lexi1989: I tried explaining the Key a bit more, but if it's still a vague concept, it will make sense in a few chapters time, as it will come into play.**

 **Anilissa: Hohohoho, you're gonna be suprised ow Yuka comes into play. I have a plot twist up my sleeve :)**

 **loveisfun: Here!**

 **(CH1)Unknown: Thank you! I tried looking ut for typos and stuff this time.**

 **Naeema. gomez: Sorry! The previous chapter was messed up due to corrupted format, but I rectified it! it's readable now.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Natsume!"

Natsume's entire body froze at the sing song voice of his mother. He quickly put away his manga and ran to his little storage area, which he had made into a den. He sat inside and shut the door, still shivering.  
That tone of voice never meant good.

"I know you're in here, brat." She slammed his bedroom door open.

He head a few soft footfalls, before his Den's door opened. She glared at him for a terrifying minute before pulling him out. Carried him over to his bed and plopped him onto it.

"You brat. You made her cry."

This was news to Natsume. He had made her cry?

"I made her cry?" he asked, his eyes slightly wide.

"Yes. I went tout to see how you two were doing, and she was the only one there. She was crying. What did you do?"

"Nothing! Shes the one that pulled me onto her lap when I said I didn't want to swing. She also sat down on me, and tickled me!"

Kaoru glared at him, and Natsume became quiet.

"I was the one that told her to pull you out, Natsume. She did her best, but you didn't. Do your best to at trying to go along with her!"

Natsume huffed, and turned away.

"Dont you huff at me young man! First day and you already make her cry!"

"Alright, alright! I'll try. Happy?" Natsume said, glaring back at his mother.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I hope you will. Start by apologizing to her."

She left him at that, and further down the corridor and opened the end door. It opened into a cozy looking library. She went in and shut the door behind her.

XXXXXX Mikan was setting ready for dinner.

She put on one of her dresses and let a maid do her hair after her bath. The maid braided her hair into twin braids and tied them up with yellow ribbon. Mikan skipped down to the dining room, and saw that Kaoru, Natsume and a dark haired man were already there.

"Oh, Mikan! You're here. Come, sit!" Kaoru called out to her.

Mikan walked to the seat Kaoru motioned to, suddenly conscious of herself. If she was not mistaken, that man had to be Mr. Hyuuga,. Natsume's dad, right?

"So, Ioran, as I was telling you, this is the girl I decided to take in. Mikan, introduce yourself!"

Mikan jumped at the mention of her name.

"Um, I am Mikan Sakura. I am seven years old." Mikan managed to introduce herself without stuttering because the scary looking man.

His hard face melted into a smile before he talked to her.

"I am Ioran Hyuuga, Natsume's dad. Noce to meet you, Mikan."

Mikan smiled at him as well.

After the pleasantries, dinner proceeded without any further incident, and Mikan realized that Ioran Hyuuga was a very kind man. He was very soft-spoken, and tended to let his wife stand in the limelight. He reminded her of someone, someone who she couldn't quite make out.

Mikan talked as she ate, but she realized that Natsume kept glancing at her. She tried to catch his gaze once or twice, but he proved elusive. Her face fell as she realized that maybe he hated her.

She had made him mad earlier, right? He was smaller than her, she shouldn't have teased him.

As dinner drew to a close, Ioran had to excuse himself as he had to attend a business call. Mikan quickly finished her dinner, as she was growing sleepy.

That day was a tiring day.

She finished her dinner and jumper off her seat. Just as she was about to leave, natsume confronted her. She looked down at him in surprise.

"I… I wanted to say sorry." He ran off.

Mikan stood frozen for a moment before she ran after him and pulled him into a hug. Kaoru watched on from behind, smirking at the red Natsume.

"I-I said I was sorry, yeah? Don't make me push you again!"

Mikan giggled and let go off him. Natsume looked at her for a moment before rushing up the stairs to his room.

 **XXXXX**

 **IM SORRY FOR BEING LATE. I HAVE NO EXCUSE.**

 **ANYWAY**

 **Natsume is a bit OOC here as he's a kid, and as his past isn't what it was in the GA manga.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Anilissa: … That'll come in the future chapters, as well as why Yuka was blamed.**

 **This chapter was a bit lighter, in terms of feels?**

 **loveisfun** **: the update's here!**

 **Naeema. Gomez: Thank you! And the update is here!**

 **EchizenRyouma:He will, he will. Give the** **boy some time.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, Miss Mikan! Time to wake up!" came a tinkling voice.

Mikan grunted and turned over in her half awake state. She was dimly aware of the open window and energetic bustling of a person, but that was all she managed to register.

"It's morning, Miss! If you don't wake up now, you won't be able to greet Mr. Hyuuga goodbye!"

At this, Mikan slightly woke up. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Hyuuga is leaving for work soon."

Mikan sat up groggily, looking at the person speaking with half closed eyes. A girl with bubblegum pink hair stood there, smiling. She wore a maid's uniform and had a few clothes in her hands.

"Please brush your teeth and take a quick shower, if you want to see Mr. Hyuuga before he leaves!"

She whisked Mikan off her bed and into the washroom. The feeling of cold tile under her feet woke Mikan up with a kick.

She rushed around the washroom quickly, deciding to take a normal bath instead of soaking in the tub. Fifteen minutes later, the maid was braiding her hair.

"Oh, what's your name?" Mikan asked her.

"Mine? Oh, I'm Anna Umenomiya."

"Okay! I'll call you big sister Anna then?"

"However you please, miss." Anna smiled.

"And you have to call me Mikan." Mikan tried to look back at her, but failed.

"Okay." Anna said, tying a ribbon to the second braid. "There. Now you can go!"

Mikan thanked Anna before she ran out her room and down the stairs, and she was just in time.

Mr. Hyuuga was just about to leave, Kaoru and Natsume standing ay the door with him. He smiled as Mikan came into view.

"Have a good day at work, dear." Kaoru was saying.

They pressed lips for a moment before he left, a little habit.

"Ew, mom, gross! I'm a kid!" Natsume whined.

Kaoru laughed at this. "Mikan's a kid. She's not grossed out."

Natsume turned back to see Mikan, and paled at the starry eyed look she had on her face.

"Oh, Mikan, I forgot asking yesterday, but when I your birthday?" Kaoru said.

"It's on May 17th, auntie."

"Then you _are_ older than Natsume! He was born on November 27th. You're half an year older!"

Mikan smiled in victory at this and Natsume sulked, kicking the carpet.

"Ha! So I get to order you around!" Mikan said, her hands on her hips.

"Not that I'm going to _follow_ your orders," Natsume said, looking sideways at her before he went off.

Mikan's stomach growled, and she flushed a little. Kaoru smirked at Mikan's embarrassment and lead her to the dining room. Wordlessly, Mikan had her breakfast and followed Kaoru out the room and up the stairs. Kaoru sat down on one if the sofas and patted next to her.

"How are you finding this so far?" She smiled.

"I like it, except how sulky Natsume is." Mikan swung her legs.

"He is rather sulky, but I hope you can help with that. I have tried many times, but he doesn't budge." Kaoru sighed.

"I'm trying!" Mikan said, sitting up.

"I see." Kaoru laughed, and Mikan giggled.

Managing Natsume was going to be tough, but Mikan wasn't going to give up.

 **XXXXX**

 **WHOOPSIES**

 **Guess who's figured out a schedule for their story**

 **Me**

 **I'll be updating once or twice a week, but ILL MAKE SURE TO UPDATE ATLEAST ONCE I PROMISE.**

 **SHORT CHAP but bear with me artists block + school + me being lazy is not a good combo ;-;**

 **Reviews:**

 **Guest: AH! Thanks for catching my mistake! I forgot to edit it out…and as I said in this chapter, Mikan is older than Natsume by six months. Mikan is seven, and Natsume is just about be seven. I hope I cleared it up?**

 **Naeema. gomez: Thanks!**

 **Loveisfun: Here!**

 **EchizenRyoma: aaaa about Hotaru and Ruka, they are in this story! But they'll be coming in later. And about A.A… I'll see what I can do.**

 **Marissa(guest): Thanks and here!**


	6. Chapter 6

One thing that Natsume hated with a burning passion was playing outside. The other thing was studying. Kaoru didn't know which one was harder for him to do. Both of them were horrible punishments to him, which was amusing to watch sometimes. He would growl and struggle, but with teachers like his, he couldn't escape.

Narumi, Misaki and Jinno. They had been underclassmen to Kaoru in her school days and now they were working under her. It brought tears of joy to realize that she always had an upper hand over them.

However, Mikan on the other hand, was the opposite from Natsume. She lived to play and study, even if it didn't come easily to her. She could read books easily, for she had a good vocabulary. Her weak points were math and science. Everything else was easy for her.

Kaoru to get her to study along with Natsume. She would be in the same class as him, anyway.

And thus started Mikan's studying with Natsume under Narumi, Misaki and Jinno.

Narumi, who taught literature, immediately took a fancy to Mikan, as she was a very refreshing change compared to Natsume. She was bright, cheerful and always ready to ask him questions, compared to the dull Natsume. He rarely looked like he wanted to learn.

Misaki, who taught science, did like her, but he didn't outwardly show it. He taught what he came for, and left, but he did smile at Mikan once or twice. That was rare.

Jinno was the one thing that hiccuped Mikan's love for study. He was strict and seemed to target Mikan more. He had a very murderous aura, and everytime Mikan made the tiniest mistake, he would scold her to oblivion. Not that he was a bad teacher, just that he was extremly strict.

And thus drew the end to Mikan's first day of study.

She went to her room and collapsed onto her bed, a little tired but a lot happy. Studying was fun, as she got to learn new things.

"Mikan!" Kaoru called from outside.

She got up and went out. "Yes, auntie?"

Kaoru was in the balcony, sitting on a bench and writing something down.

"I'm going out to the shop and I wanted to see if you wanted anything." Kaoru looked up.

"Me? Ah..." Mikan tilted her head in thought. "Right! I want a drawing book and maybe crayons?"

Kaoru smiled and nodded before jotting it down. A rare scene showed itself as Natsume walked out into the balcony by himslef. Mikan's and Kaoru stared at him for a moment before exchanging bright smiles with each other.

Was he finally giving up? Was he-

"Mother, I don't have any more comics to read!" he whined.

The smiles dropped.

"I should get you some comics?" Kaoru asked.

She sat up as a plan formulated in her mind. This should work for sure.

"Yes, please?" Natsume asked.

The only thing he would never sacrifice were his comics. Kaoru smirked.

"Sure, I'll get you some!" She said.

She grabbed Natsume before he ran inside again.

"But you're gonna have to study and play as directed by me. One day following my orders is one comic book." She looked down on him with a terrifying expression.

"No!"

Kaoru let out 'hm' and crossed an item off her list. "No comics for you, mister."

Natsume stared dumbstruck at his mother. How could she do this to him?! His eyes showed his internal struggle as he weighed his options. There was only one thing to do, no matter how he dreaded it.

"I'll study and play! I want the comics!"

Kaoru snapped her fingers and wrote something down.

Plan success.

 **Shitty chapter. Sorry. Im not feeling very good rn. Stuff happened in school.**

 **I'll only be answering questions in reviews from now on.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Loveisfun: No worrieworries** **Dearie as I'll be showing them growing up! The childhood is here to serve as a base for what I have in mind huehuehue**

 **Guest: I'm sorry! I should really get off my lazy but. I already have my next chapter planned out and drafted, so I'll probs update in a few days to make up!**

 **Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

A week. It had been a week since his hell had started. A week since he was forced to study along with Mikan, a week since he had made a deal with the devil.

His comics were coming in steadily, but slowly. Out of the week, he had already lost three days of play (due to his dislike ) and thus he was three comics short. Mikan was extremly happy, always eager to play. He was sure that even if he went to her in the middle of the night, she'd be ready to play.

A clock chimed four times in the distance.

Four O'Clock. _Time to prepare himslef for war._

He reluctantly got out of bed, and started dressing sluggishly. He _was_ still in his pyjamas after all.

In fifteen minutes, he heard the excited pitter patter of feet coming toward his door. He let out a groan before finishing pulling on his socks.

"Natsume!" came _her_ shrill voice.

That voice he hated so much.

"Time to go play!" She jumped up and down.

"Ugh." Natsume removed himself from the bed before coming to stand in front of Mikan.

But she was already outside, running downstairs. Natsume started dragging his feet in the same direction, and after his struggles, he ended up in the front lawn.

"Okay, were playing hide and seek today!" Mikan exclaimed with a smile and Natsume saw horns on her head.

Hide and seek was the death of him. He'd have to find her.

That would be haaaaard.

But, for the sake of comics, he was going to.

XxxxxX

The woman sighed, her breath shaky. She had made it. She didn't know where she was, but she had made it.

The tiny bundle in her arms quivered, and she immediately held it closer, trying to provide the warmth she did not have.

It was cold. She was a forest, surrounded by trees covered with snow. She was somewhere she didn't know, with no one that was familiar.

"You," she looked down at the small child in her arms. "You.. you're the only one now, you know? The only one who's familiar to me. The one... one person that is... my proof of existence. My one and only-"

She was cut off by a sound. She looked around quickly, and found the source. A man and a woman were along their way there. The woman was the one that came into the girls sight first. The couple noticed her and stopped.

"You-"

 **XxxxxX**

 **I KNOW IM LATE**

 **AND A SHORT CHAPTER BUT IM DEPRESSED**

 **Im horrible aren't I  
I'm sorry  
**

 **But life's a bitch and hhh**

 **BUT**

 **I have a thing for you guys**

 **This storyline be finished in three months time tops and my exams are done with**

 **So**

 **I think I'll be updating more**


	8. Chapter 8

Mikan was counting. The numbers were heard all over the front and back yards, and were even louder to Natsume, as he hid behind the shed in the backyard.

"Ready or not, I'm coming!" She called out in a sing-song voice. He heard her come, and pushed himslef into the shadowy corner. A tree branch ticked the top of his head.

He heard the crunch of leaves under her feet as she walked around the yard slowly. Each second was nerve-wracking as he couldn't lean out to see where she was and protect his location.

The branch brushed his head again, but he ignored it.

That would later be a great mistake.

Mikan walked around the yard and went back to the front of the house. Natsume let out a sigh of relief, he was safe for now.

That 'now' ended when Mikan came back to the backyard. She started circling again, looking more carefully, calling out his name many times.

The branch brushed his head yet again, and this time it bent down over his face.

A spider hung in front of his face.

A big spider.

Natsume let out a shriek and started running out from his hiding place. Mikan jumped, surprised as Natsume ran into her.

"What happened?" she asked, now scared due to his condition.

"Sp-spider," Natsume stuttered, clinging to her.

"Oh, that's it?"

"That's it?! It was huge!"

Mikan laughed. "I see! It can't be that scary, I'll check!"

Mikan pried Natsume off of her, and walked over to the corner. She was there for a moment before she came back laughing.

"It's nothing! Don't worry about it."

Natsume growled quietly, staring fixedly at the key that hung around her neck.

"Hey, Mikan?"

She nodded, humming.

"Why isn't your key glowing? Mom's and mine always do,"

"Ah, that's cause my mom used it up, if i remember correct. The ladies at the orphanage always said that mom was the one that used it. I don't know why,"

Natsume nodded, amd both of them settled in a silence.

"Okay," Mikan said suddenly. "Your turn to count. Go!"

She gave him a little push. He went into the front yard, and started counting. Thirty seconds later, he walked back to the back yard, looking around for her. He checked behind the shed, and on every tree. He checked in the little break in the wall, maybe she had hidden outside it. He couldn't find her. After a third time of looking, the shadows gave him a clue. Along the shadow of the shed in the ground, there was a strange bump. He looked up.

Mikan was crouched on the shed's roof, looking ready to burst with laughter.

"You took so long!" She laughed.

"Well, you hid so high!"

"I needed to win!"

She slid down from the roof and landed in a heap, letting out a small cry of pain. "I climbed the outer wall and shed wall to get up,"

"I didn't ask."

"You looked like you were about to."

Natsume let out a 'humph' and walked off, inside. But they had been outside for a good hour, and that was enough for her. She followed him in.

 **Xxxx**

 **SO SHE MAKES A COMEBACK**

 **HOHO**

 **IM SORRY**

 **BUT LIFE CAUGHT UP**

 **HERE HAVE THIS FILLER**

 **NEXT CHAP WILL HAVE SUBSTANCE**


End file.
